What is the Logic of a Pot Filler?

I recently spent a lot of money on a kitchen upgrade, and even though I actually asked for recommendations for cool new kitchen innovations, nobody tried to sell me a range faucet.

Just more plumbing that has to be installed, and then waits to go wrong.
 
<raises hand>
Not doing it either. Looking towards my keyboard, the last thing I need is more pasta!
 
W2R said:
My ice maker has never leaked or gone on the fritz
Click to expand...

We are on our third ice maker for our 17 year old fridge.

The first one failed a couple years after we moved in. We were watching TV when water suddenly started pouring out of the freezer onto the floor. I killed the power then pulled out the fridge and turned the water off. Thankfully we were home to catch it when it happened. I hate to think of the damage that would have done if we were out of town (we always turn off the house water now if we're gone overnight).

The second one failed a couple years ago. Something went wrong with the defrost timer, causing the ice maker not to dump and when it went to refill water overflowed into the ice maker timer shorting it out.

Thankfully, it's a relatively simple job to replace an ice maker, other than the cost.
 
The worst setup is the pot filler in a kitchen having nice new hand-scraped hardwood floors.

That $ 30k+ insurance claim practically writes itself.
 
finnski1 said:
Oh sure. Go and rain on our parade. We were set to make millions.:facepalm:Those pot filler guys only did half the work.They need to sell the home maker on the other part of the problem as well. Drainage! Your brewery equipment is close but with some mods and a little marketing.....:cool:
Click to expand...

No, that's covered. It has a pump to move the liquid into your fermentor.

-ERD50
 
W2R said:
I have the best of all possible worlds concerning this dilemma. Frank does not have an ice maker, and yet he uses a LOT of ice for his iced tea. So, when he's over here visiting me, he gets ice from my ice maker and carries it home to store in his freezer. He lives next door, just 20 feet away.

My ice maker has never leaked or gone on the fritz, but if it did, he'd fix it (and the floor if necessary). He loves having it available. And me? I get all the ice I want, never have to fix a thing, and have a happy boyfriend/companion with lots of ice. :D :dance:
Click to expand...



It's actually not the ice maker, but the waterline running to it. Caused a lot of grief, because the leaks were going on for a long time before I noticed them. You would think that after the 1st time, I would be more attentive.

It would look silly to have a pan under the fridge like the one you can buy for a water heater, but that would help me. :)

PS. And speaking of ice, do people know that Europeans do not use ice?
 
mountainsoft said:
...(we always turn off the house water now if we're gone overnight). ....
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I thought I read that a solenoid or something may burn out if the water supply is shut off and the ice maker left on?

OK, a quick google says you need to shut off the ice maker if you shut off the water, I guess a motor keeps running or solenoid stays on, waiting for the tray to fill, which never happens.

-ERD50
 
I have some battery powered leak sensors in the usual areas. I put one under the kitchen sink because many things happen there, and one in that tray under the water heater. They are the cable type, that will detect water anywhere along the length of them. just be sure to put it where the battery change will be easy. They will beep when battery is getting too low.
One of those behind a fridge seems like a good idea, if you can bring the unit out to right behind the front valance for easy battery changes.
 
ERD50 said:
I thought I read that a solenoid or something may burn out if the water supply is shut off and the ice maker left on?

OK, a quick google says you need to shut off the ice maker if you shut off the water, I guess a motor keeps running or solenoid stays on, waiting for the tray to fill, which never happens.

-ERD50
Click to expand...


I have looked at an ice maker, and I think they all work the same like this.

There's a temperature sensor to determine if the water has frozen. The motor is then turned on to turn the paddle to dump the ice cubes.

The water solenoid is turned on by a switch operated by the motor gear. There's no float to determine the water level as we have in a toilet tank. Instead, the mechanical switch closes for a fixed time period of a few seconds. This time period is adjustable mechanically.

So, if the water supply is shut off, the ice maker will run more frequently to dump non-existent ice cubes, because the ice tray is always cold. I don't know how short this cycle can get.

For each cycle, the water solenoid will not actuate for any longer period, because it is mechanically controlled.

It is of course best to turn the ice maker off if you remember. Else, the paddle motor will run more frequently and perhaps causes unnecessary wear and tear.
 
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Pot filler is just a conversational item. Nobody today cooks where they need to fill up big and deep pots.

To me, it's just something else to leak.
 
NW-Bound said:
I am so outdated, this is the first time I heard of a pot filler above the stove.

Sounds like it is as useful as an appendix, with the difference being you have no choice with the latter.
Click to expand...

we never heard of a 'pot filler', either. and we would not want one.
 
I don't need a pot filler faucet above the stove.
Also see them as a not so useful thing and a leak waiting to happen.
And we do not have one of those giant pots.
 
I get that the practicality of a pot filler seems absent, however, I’m not sure why there’s all this concern about a leak. I can’t remember the last time I had a leak in a modern faucet. I guess I’d want an easily accessible shut off valve no matter, but I really don’t think a leak is likely.
 
I've cooked hundreds of pounds for pasta for the teen kids over the years and never saw the need. I understand it may be a "must have" in a modern house, just as trash compactor was years ago. I never used the compactor in the house I bought.

When I can no longer carry a pot of water from the sink to the stove, I'll get divorced and find a 25 yr. old to do my cooking :) ;)
 
Jerry1 said:
I get that the practicality of a pot filler seems absent, however, I’m not sure why there’s all this concern about a leak. I can’t remember the last time I had a leak in a modern faucet. I guess I’d want an easily accessible shut off valve no matter, but I really don’t think a leak is likely.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine had her pot filler detach itself from the wall fitting. Yes there was a big flood. No she did not know where the shut off valve was located (it was in a cabinet right next to the stove).

Apparently the arm was wobbling around for quite some time before the disaster. Anyway, by the time I got there a kind neighbor had closed the city water cutoff valve.

My friend does not use the pot filler any more.
 
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ERD50 said:
I thought I read that a solenoid or something may burn out if the water supply is shut off and the ice maker left on?

OK, a quick google says you need to shut off the ice maker if you shut off the water, I guess a motor keeps running or solenoid stays on, waiting for the tray to fill, which never happens.
Click to expand...

Hmm.. News to me, but I usually turn off the ice maker too (just lift the arm) in case I forget to turn off the water. So I'm good either way.
 
Jerry1 said:
I’m not sure why there’s all this concern about a leak. I can’t remember the last time I had a leak in a modern faucet.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised you haven't had a leaky faucet. Maybe you have excellent water, minimal usage, or really high end faucets?

In the last 17 years I have replaced the cartridges in our kitchen sink, bathroom sink (twice), both shower cartridges, and both of our outdoor faucets. All are different brands and different designs. That's with very good quality well water and a whole house water filter to keep sediment out of our plumbing system.

For what it's worth, I have also replaced several cartridges and washers at my mom's house and my in-laws house. Both were on city water in two different cities. So it's not just me.

Moving parts eventually just wear out, especially soft parts like washers and gaskets.
 
My kitchen is so small you have one step from the stove to the sink. Stove filler not needed.
 
I've had multiple kitchen faucets leak, a fridge water line leak, and an under sink water line break at various times. I'm all about minimizing the number of water lines and faucets in my kitchen area. There is no way I'd want a pot filler.
 
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